The Road to Financial Victory is NOT Just About Paying Off Your Debts

It’s really important to pay off all your personal indebtedness if you want to ever achieve financial victory. In fact, in more than thirty years of ministry we have never seen a family with significant personal indebtedness that had been able to achieve anything close to financial victory.

But the truth is, most people will also need to increase their income. As this article is being written in mid-2018, the median income in America is somewhere around $60,000 per year. It has finally started increasing again for the first time since 1999 but the rate of increase is slow despite low unemployment. Is that enough income for you? Perhaps you have education and job skills that will take you above the average. The fact is though, most people hope for a higher income than the average but half of the country is falling short.

If you work for someone else, then you have little control over the amount you are paid. If you are a good and conscientious worker you can expect to make more than an average worker. Or, you can change employers if you find one that pays more. Otherwise, it is out of your control. If you are satisfied with your income and you’re happy working for as an employee for someone, you can stay where you are. If you aren’t so happy with your income though, you could simultaneously find a way to make more income by starting your own part time business while you continue working where you are already comfortable.

For a couple of years now, I’ve been telling folks in any of our workshops that I think every family in Americashould own a home-based business. Most new ventures should start out as home-based businesses where they will learn the basics before going out to find office space and try to become big operations. That makes it important to consider the house you own as a business investment and as the place from where you will soon be operating a successful business. You need to SEE your business operating in your house. Find a way to make it work. If you are considering a new house, SEE your business operating in it BEFORE you buy. Not all houses are going to be an optimal location for a going business even on a part time basis but do the best you can.

Studies show that 70 percent of all Americans want to be in business for themselves. It seems like every statistic in the Small Business sector turns out to be 70 percent but that’s what it is. The 70 percent who would like to own their own business compares to the 30 or so percent that actually own one. Why is there such a disparity between wishing and doing? Not even half of the people who are dreaming about owning their own business are actually doing it.

The truth is, everybody has to take the first step to start a process of change and people have a lot of trouble taking that first step. Moreover, they become secure in the scenario of working for others and have trouble busting out of the cocoon of being somebody’s employee. Every business venture involves risk and leaving the security of being an employee is perceived as risky by most people. They don’t realize that with a good idea and some basic preparation, the risk can be reduced to the point that it makes little sense to not try to enter the ranks of the self-employed.

There are a number of reasons for wanting to be self- employed. But first you have to be willing to take the first step and make a change in your way of THINKING. The Bible says that as a person thinks in his/her heart, so is he/she. All of us are today the result of how we’ve been thinking. Do we put limits on ourselves? Are we afraid of change? Do we fear trying something new? What is holding back millions of Americans who say they want to be in business for themselves from actually doing it?

Friend, there are 85 million single-family homes in America that are NOT hosting a family business. Out of that group there are about 50 million that say they WANT to own a business and the remaining folks aren’t interested and prefer to continue doing whatever it is they’re already doing. We need to look at a few very real reasons people are opting out of such a great and virtually irresistible opportunity.

Here are some of the main reasons folks are holding back but certainly not all of them:

They don’t believe they can succeed.

They are not willing to give up their security.

They don’t know what to do to start one.

It has never happened in their families before.

Or, it did happen in their family one time and failed.

They are conditioned to being poor and limited.

They want to start something but they procrastinate.

They believe it is too risky.

They are overwhelmed by their lack of knowledge.

Since you are reading this article, I’m going to assume that you are part of the 85 million on the outside looking in but that you’re considering a jump to the ranks of the self-employed. The message I have for you is that I can show you how to set up a home-based business that is almost guaranteed to succeed with a reasonable chance for the future to grow out of your house and into an office where you can develop a successful business that could last for generations. Part of that depends on your age, the younger the better, and another part is related to your individual ability to absorb new information and put it into practice.

It all starts with a first step and here’s why I tell our workshops that every home in America should own a home-based business: it an unbelievably easy path to additional income. All you have to do is register a company name in the official record of your state, open a company bank account and start up an office in your home. By doing just that, most people will then be eligible for tax deductions that have been created by our federal government precisely to encourage the growth and prosperity of American small business. That’s the way our country works. Our government has created all kinds of ways to reduce income taxes and a relative few are taking advantage of it.

In sum, the biggest thing holding people back from business and financial success is their thinking. They THINK it’s too risky. They THINK they can’t succeed. Or, they THINK they should stay with the security.

A number of years ago I left college and went to work for one of the largest corporations in the world. My goal was to work for that company for five years and then return to my home town and go into private business with my family. When the five years finished way quicker than I had expected, I decided to go another five years because I was enjoying the security of a bi-weekly or monthly paycheck and I had access to a bunch of benefits that represented additional income. Before I knew what had happened I was approaching my 20th anniversary in that company and I hated it. Every day I hated the corporate environment, I hated all the office politics and I hated every moment of not being in business for myself. I was one of the 70 percent of American business people who long to be in business for themselves but have trouble pulling the trigger on that first step. I wanted to leave that company but I kept on procrastinating.

Fortunately, that first step was taken for me because that company decided I didn’t fit into their future operating plans and I was offered early retirement. I took it, left the company in my rear view mirror and went on down a new road to self-employment. I couldn’t seem to come up with the courage to pull the trigger myself so the company I’d worked for 20 years pulled it for me. It was like being set free with new air to breathe!

I give you this testimony to encourage you to get your thinking right. I can show you how to succeed in a small business startup as almost a sure thing. Of course, there are situations that come along in this world that we can’t control, but barring some catastrophe, you CAN do this. And even if you DO fail, you can come back and start something else. Walt Disney failed 7 times before he finally hit on the right thing. As an inventor, Thomas Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Success is NEVER guaranteed but there are ways to maximize your odds of winning and we have most of them covered in special publications that we make available at this website!

Think about your life and what you want to do with it. Take control of it instead of just letting things happen. And then make something notable out of it, not for yourself but to glorify God and help Him build His Kingdom.

Here are the links to two publications that we think are the best you can buy if you’re interested in starting your own business. They will change your life: